KIRKUS REVIEW

A country music star finishes a tour in New York City and is summoned home to Oklahoma for Christmas by his mother, but to get there, he’ll face a string of travel disasters and meet a fellow voyager who just might be the woman of his dreams.

Heath Sawyer has reached the pinnacle of his career, ending a long, successful tour at Madison Square Garden just days before Christmas. Contemplating a tropical vacation for the holiday, his plans change abruptly when his mother calls him and gently but firmly tells him it’s time to come home. Managing to squeak on a last-minute flight, he gets to the airport in time to see the plane grounded, but in the midst of the chaos of stranded passengers, Heath meets Cara, a quirky accountant and problem-solver who is also trying to get back to Tulsa for Christmas and fails to recognize him, much to Heath’s wry amusement. The two reroute to Chicago, where they hit a blizzard, and it’s anyone’s guess whether they’ll actually make it home in time, despite Cara’s resourcefulness and best efforts. Along the way, Heath finds himself drawing strength from and enjoying the forced company of his fellow holiday vagabond, and by the end of the bizarre journey, he is pretty sure he can’t live without her. Now, if only he can convince her he’s worth the risk, it just might be the best Christmas ever. Shackleford—mother of country music superstar Blake Shelton—joins with celebrity collaborator Thrasher to create a storyline around Shelton’s Christmas ballad of the same name. A kind of homage to tried-and-true country song elements—the star who drinks too much, the escape from the big city to the purity of nature and home, the refreshingly normal girl-next-door heroine who knows a relationship with The Big Star will never work—combined with a Planes, Trains & Automobiles, everything-that-can-go-wrong-will sensibility.

Nothing great or earth shattering, but a sweet, if clichéd, romantic Christmas tale that will warm some hearts. Fans of country star Blake Shelton and his author-mother take note.

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